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Source: The post is based on the article “One World One Health” published in The Times of India on 9th June 2023.
Syllabus: GS 2 – Issues associated with health
News: This article discusses the current state of digital health and the potential it holds for transforming healthcare.
Digital health is on the brink of disruptive technologies but lacks a standardized framework and global vision.
What is the status of digital health in India?
India has seen transformative digital tools in public health, such as CoWIN and eSanjeevani, during pandemic.
CoWIN tracked vaccine logistics, registered people for vaccination, and generated digital certificates, democratizing the vaccination drive.
eSanjeevani, a telemedicine platform, allowed online consultations with doctors from home, handling over 10 crore consultations.
Other digital tools like Aarogya Setu and RT-PCR app informed policy and strengthened India’s Covid response.
India is building a national digital health ecosystem – Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) – to exploit the potential of digital tools in public health. ABDM empowers patients to store and access medical records, share these with healthcare providers, and ensure treatment.
What are the challenges to digital health?
most transformative digital solutions are not easily accessible due to copyright regimes and proprietary systems.
Digital public goods or open-source solutions exist. But there is no global governance framework for digital health that can ensure interoperability across systems and address concerns around data security and privacy.
What should be done?
1) Converge scattered efforts into a global initiative on digital health and institutionalize a governance framework.
2) Collaborate on a protocol for digital health, similar to what was done for the internet.
3) Identify and scale up promising digital solutions as digital public goods.
4) Involve all stakeholders and build trust for global exchange of health data.
5) Find ways to fund such initiatives.
